Gu Caiwei accepted Shen Lian’s request and looked at Qianmo seriously. As she carried it, she was surprised by how light Qianmo was. However, the Taixu Divine Qi within her flowed towards the bird as though the floodgate had been opened.
Gu Caiwei was slightly surprised. “Taixu Divine Qi could refill its Qi of Vitality. Senior Apprentice-Sister, you don’t have to let it drain too much of it. I will fill it up after I’m done with this,” Shen Lian spoke through telepathy.
Gu Caiwei was relieved after hearing what Shen Lian had said. However, she was surprised at how the Taixu Divine Qi could refill the bird’s Qi of Vitality. She wondered what the bird’s background was. Looking at the way Shen Lian acted earlier, he could even turn the power within the bird into his mana. This was very strange indeed.
After attaining the state of Huandan, especially that Shen Lian had undergone the Nine Transformations, his Mana was very pure. Normal Qi of Vitality could not be turned into Taixu Mana within a short period of time. Even if it was slightly mixed, it was still not realistic.
Gu Caiwei could not understand the key about this within moments. However, if she were to ask Shen Lian about it later, Shen Lian would for sure spill everything that he knew. Hence, she could let go of it for now and allowed for her Taixu Mana to flow into Qianmo. She had been stuck in her current state for many years now, and she had a dense mana. However, what she lacked was the understanding of the Dan Dao.
It was not that she was lacking in terms of established practices or mind. Taixu Strategy had always been this difficult.
Only Shen Lian who was abnormal could cultivate it to the state of Huandan within such a short period of time. However, without the sixteen bitter years he spent at the River of Spirits, he could not have attained the sudden success he had either.
Right now, Shen Lian was fearless. “We won’t be able to fight to our heart’s content here. Grand Uncle-Master, let’s head out,” he said as he smiled at Bai Suhuan. With their level of cultivation, when they were using their Dao techniques, even the world was considered small for them. The decisive moment would be determining their life and death, and not merely just victory and defeat. Of course, since they had decided that this was a battle of victory and defeat, there would be nothing to do with life and death.
Bai Suhuan understood and nodded. Even though he was surprised by the hike in Shen Lian’s mana, but he could not have stopped it. All he could say was that he did not expect Shen Lian to have such a move up his sleeve.
Moreover, he had always been proud. Hence, he was unafraid of Shen Lian’s petty tricks. If he could win by sheer mana, what were these states of attainment for then?
Shen Lian walked out of the hall, and he rushed into the clouds in a flash. His mana was raging, and a slight release of his spiritual pressure had dispersed the clouds and revealed the sky. The Five Peaks underneath was covered in snow, and the daylight reflected on the snow. Shen Lian stood in the void; his features were pretty, as though he was a Celestial figure that had walked out of the painting.
The Five Peaks of Qing Xuan and its mountains and rivers seemed to have turned into Shen Lian’s backdrop.
Bai Suhuan was expressionless. He rose from his futon and walked out of the hall. Step by step, he walked up the void. The gravity of the Earth was nothing to him.
He could go up the sky as he wished, and could enter the ground if he wanted to.
Bai Suhuan looked at Shen Lian. There was not any coldness in his gaze, and no sign of animosity was in his eyes. He looked at Shen Lian with impartiality. Having entered into the Absurd State for many years, he had cultivated an unshakable heart of Dao to face all sorts of whims in the world. However, he still did not manage to find the strand of self that he was looking for; he had yet to evict the absurdity and to return to the truth, melting into the divine Qi and cultivated his Primordial Spirit.
He was at the end of the nine states of cultivation.
There was no shocking spiritual pressure; he looked at Shen Lian calmly, causing pressure to well-up within him.
“You are the senior here, you may start first,” Shen Lian smiled.
Shen Lian was casual and even went as far as letting his opponent taking the first move. A lot of people had come out of Qing Xuan Hall to watch the battle. Even Zhang Ruoxu came out along with Lu Shouyi. His time was up soon, but his sight was still functioning for now.
Shen Lian made up for what he lacked in mana. However, it was not that easy to obtain a victory against Bai Suhuan.
However, the fact that Shen Lian went as far as he did came as a surprise to Zhang Ruoxu. If Bai Suhuan insisted on his objection, Zhang Ruoxu was confident that he could make him recognize Shen Lian as the chief. However, the effect would be better if Shen Lian convinced him with his own power.
Actually, most of the cultivators who were serious about pursuing Dao in the sect did not care about the position of the chief. Despite how Bai Suhuan was acting, if he were offered the position, he might not even say yes to it.
Shen Lian would enjoy more freedom not being the chief.
Zhang Ruoxu sighed in his heart. Only Shen Lian would accept the difficult role without weighing his options.
Bai Suhuan did not listen to Shen Lian. “With your potential and your level of cultivation, why do you even bother with being the chief? There are many ways to repay your gratitude to Zhang Ruoxu. However, the moment you become the chief, you would lose your carefreeness and be restrained by the bond. Why would you put yourself through all these?” Said Bai Suhuan.
Shen Lian seemed to be staring at the white snow far away and was not focusing his attention on Bai Suhuan. “Looking for carefreeness does not mean that I would find it. As the Nanhua Scripture says, ‘Forget not its beginnings, and ask not for its ending; be happy about what was bestowed upon you, regaining what was once lost. Destruct not the great Dao, interfere not the natural course of things’. I’m only acting in accordance with my heart, why would I think about all these,” Shen Lian replied.
He cited the Nanhua Scripture as a reminder for himself not to forget about his roots and not to chase after his future; to just take things as they came, and to forget about life and death. Let things take its natural course, to refrain from destructing the Dao with his heart and mind, and to refrain from aiding the natural way of things with his actions.
Upon saying this, it was as though Shen Lian had turned into a free-floating cloud. The entire mana within him poured outwards, and even Bai Suhuan could not detect any lack of smoothness in it.
The exchanges between nature and man continued; Shen Lian was not just akin to the clouds in the sky, but also the running river in the mountains and the hint of fresh breeze. His Qi dynamic was unpredictable, as though it was a fish swimming in the world.
Bai Suhuan knew that if he allowed for this to continue, it would not be long before Shen Lian could secure the complete resonance of the Qi of heaven and earth in Qing Xuan. At that point, the massive trend would be unstoppable and he would have no chance of winning.
After all, the strength of human could never rival that of nature.
This was the ingenuity of Taixu Strategy. As he was a famed figure in Qing Xuan, Bai Suhuan knew this all too well.
“Shen kiddo, I’m going to start now. Watch out for yourself,” he spoke slowly.
Bai Suhuan did not use any instrument. It was not that he did not have the best of instruments, but if he were to secure victory with the help of an instrument, the younger disciples would lose their respect for him.
Even though Shen Lian wanted a battle to determine victory and defeat, but there was no way that he could have fought a deathly battle with Shen Lian. He would be the one who loses his reputation in the end.
With a swing of his palm, a cold and lonesome silver ray shot out. This was the Taiyin Light of the Code of the Bright Moon.
By absorbing the essence of the Taiyin moonlight and cultivating it with mana, the Taiyin Light was made. Its power was impossible to estimate, and it was a lot stronger than the normal flying swords. Moreover, it was capable of abstruse changes.
The moment the Taiyin Light shot out, the Qi of the heaven and earth acted as though their General had appeared. Waves of Qi rolled towards Shen Lian in the void. The Taiyin Light led the way, as though it was opening a new path in the world.
The suffocating pressure came crashing. Shen Lian narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger. A sword gleam that shone with great brilliance flew out.